Sannin Switch
by Blitza
Summary: Sakura's eyes aren't real. Sasuke's dad is an irresponsible drunk. And Naruto's on the hunt for something more than false promises. These three little things will change the world. Senju!Sasuke Fuuinjutsu!Naruto Serpentlike!Sakura
1. Chapter 1

**This has three prequels. If you do not read them this will not make a lick of sense.**

* * *

Naruto grimaced as his stomach grumbled again. The blonde boy shifted uncomfortably from his sprawled position on his bed. He'd run out of money (again) and it was still a few days until his check was supposed to arrive. Normally, the monthly check was enough to cover all of his living expenses, but Naruto had stupidly blown it a few days before on more paint for his pranks.

Though the pranks had been fun (pouring bright pink on Mr. Sasagawa, putting glow-in-the-dark spots on the feral cats in the back alley, giving the nasty woman upstairs a new, brighter color for her door…), Naruto now regretted that he had not waited a few more days to insure he had enough to eat till his next check. Or maybe just bought less paint this time around…

Idly, Naruto allowed his chubby fingers to trail up to the sturdy chain that hung around his neck. Without thinking, he pulled the rest of the chain from underneath his shirt and began to run his fingers along the rings on it.

His parents' wedding rings.

Nothing had become more precious to Naruto than the two silver bands. That, and the note hidden between Naruto's mattress and the box springs. Naruto still hadn't figured out who had dropped the rings and note off, but he swore to himself he wouldn't stop looking till he found him. Though technically, Naruto wasn't sure of his mysterious benefactor's gender…

Meh, whatever. He'd find him eventually. It'd been a few months since then, and Naruto had just turned five. Jiji had said that he could attempt the academy's entrance exam when he was five. Once he was in the academy, Naruto just knew he'd be learning all sorts of cool ninja skills and jutsu. Then, he'd find his anonymous note-leaver or sure! Believe it!

For now, though… it was time to go meet Jiji at the academy. The old man had promised to go through a few last-minute tips on what to practice for the entrance exam. Naruto couldn't wait! His first step into being Hokage was finally here!

* * *

"Sakura! Hurry up! You're going to make me late." Mebuki Haruno's voice called from the front room. Sakura jolted from where she had been reading her book. Complicated words that a normal five-year-old would never be able to read were sprawled uniformly across the page. Sakura glanced down at the book again and made note of the page number before closing it.

 _Ninety-seven… Ninety-seven… Ninety-seven_

Sakura whispered to her mind over and over again as she slotted the heavy book back under her bed. She didn't want to forget what page she was on.

"Sakura, come on! I mean it! One, Two, Thre-"

"I'm right here, Oka-san." Sakura said as she entered the front room. A couch sat against one wall and an old, un-used TV sat directly opposite on a dusty entertainment center. They hadn't been able to afford cable in months. Mebuki Haruno stood next to the front door. One hand rested on her hip in her usual display of annoyance, the other held a heavy work bag with her construction tools and papers for the firm. The blonde woman frowned further and tilted a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her daughter's tone.

"Was that sass, young lady?" Mebuki asked darkly. Sakura flinched.

"No, Oka-san. Sorry, Oka-san." The pink haired child dipped her head and meekly approached her mother. The green on her eyes itched and she had to fight not to scratch them. They'd been itching a lot lately.

"Good. Keep it that way. Hina-san is still sick with bronchitis, so you'll be with me at the construction site today. Don't talk to anyone and don't wander off."

"Hai, Oka-san." Sakura murmured demurely. Mebuki nodded at her daughter's obedient reply before turning and opening the front door. One of the poorer streets in the residential district met her gaze. Here the houses were older, less maintained models that probably wouldn't pass a check on their build-codes. The grass was over grown, and the houses seemed to inevitably lean one way or the other. The roofs on this street were multicolor patchworks thanks to all the leaks that had been barely fixed over the years.

"Come on, Sakura. Stay close to me." Mebuki ordered as her pink haired daughter exited their own worn-down abode. Mebuki quickly locked the door before hurrying to work with swift strides. Behind her, she could hear her daughter's uneven footsteps as the small child tried to keep up. A frown of distaste worked its way across Mebuki's face. Not for the first time, regret and disgust entered her thoughts. If only she could go back in time, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Sakura hated going out with her mom. Especially to job sites. The only thing at the construction sites that she could do was sit and calculate angles and that was no fun at all. Besides, even if she found a wrong one, Oka-san had forbidden her from telling anyone. Plus, all the men there were stinky! Sakura didn't like stinky old men! Eww!

Sakura let out another long, drawn out sigh. Well, at least they weren't in the market district today. That place was always so loud. Going there had always given Sakura head aches and she was relieved not to have to wait there for hours. Instead, Oka-san had brought Sakura to a place the child had never been before.

This new place was right at the base of the Hokage mountain. Above it, the stern visages of all the past hokages gazed down at the village.

The building itself was some sort of white brick or perhaps cement. The roofing appeared to be a rather expensive bronze paneling. Some parts, like the entrance, were painted red. Sakura looked at the design in confusion. Normally, the less angles a building had, the less expensive it was to build. Yet this building was very expensive apparently. The entrance way was a rectangular add-on to a circular three-story structure. Heading off from the circular part of the building, a long rectangular corridor extended for a few rooms before turning right at a ninety-degree angle. Once more, the white off-shoot continued for a while before again turning right at a ninety-degree angle. The end result of this was an almost U-shaped building with a circular tower at one end. Personally, Sakura thought it was a waste of money but could not deny a certain ascetic value.

Either way, she'd never seen it before and was rather curious as to its purpose. Why build a building like this? It wasn't someone's personal house, she'd already seen several ninjas and officials walking in and out. Sakura pondered it as she watched attentively.

A government building, maybe? There did seem to be a lot of people walking in and out with important looking scrolls and documents…

Management, then. Most likely military management if Sakura was to judge by the large ratio of ninja that seemed to enjoy jumping in and out of the upper windows.

Her question resolved, Sakura allowed her attention to wander once more with another drawn out sigh.

There was a swing close by the entrance. Merely a rope and board hung on a tree, but perhaps she could do that for a little while. Goodness knew Sakura needed the exercise. She rarely got to physically exert herself with her mother's paranoia always curtailing any adventurous excursions.

Mind made up, Sakura left her mother's bag and trotted to the rope swing. She plopped herself on the wooden board and hastily began to pump her legs up and down. The wind began to curl through her pink hair as she began to swing. Sakura closed her eyes in pleasure. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all?

"Hey!" An angry voice interrupted Sakura's rising mood.

"Huh?" Sakura blinked her eyes open to see a blonde boy glaring up at her. Sakura slowed the swing to a stop as she regarded him curiously. The boy had blond spiky hair that reminded Sakura of something she couldn't place. Maybe she had read something in a book once? Or maybe he was a Yamanaka? They had blond hair. Though… Sakura didn't think she would catch a Yamanaka dead in such paint stained clothes. Weren't they all fashionistas or something? Sakura had never met them but she had heard of them from the old lady selling oranges at the market. Though… the woman was old and gossipy so maybe she had been wrong? And even if she were right family wasn't always exactly like each-

"You're in my swing!" The blond boy accused. Sakura blinked as her focus returned to the present.

"Yes? I am?" She asked as she tilted her head cutely to the side. The blond blinked at her for a few moments and Sakura wondered if she had said something strange again. She resisted the urge to itch at her eyes.

"Um… it's okay. You can swing too." The boy looked pointedly away from her and his cheeks lit with a bright blush. Sakura observed the strange reaction with a frown. Had she insulted him some how and made him angry? His cheeks were awfully red. Sakura had only seen Oka-san's cheeks go that red when customers didn't want to pay in full after a job had been completed. She didn't think she'd done anything to make him angry…

Perhaps he was mad because she was in his swing? Sakura could give the swing up, but she really didn't want to. She hardly ever got to swing and if this boy owned the swing he probably got to play with it every day! Sakura could hardly imagine such a pleasure.

Nope! She definitely wasn't giving up her chance to swing. But… maybe they could share?

Sakura was small for a five-year-old and the boy seemed pretty small too. The seat of the swing was a good bit larger too…

"Share with me." Sakura demanded.

"Huh?" Now it was the blonde's turn to be surprised.

"There's room for two, and we both want to swing. So, lets swing together." Sakura explained. She scooted to the side of the board and gestured for the boy to take the other side. The boy blinked before grinning.  
"Okay!" He belted out before hopping onto the board alongside Sakura. It took a moment but eventually the pair began to pump their legs in tandem. Slowly but surely the swing began to move. Sakura grinned wildly as they began to rise and fall. She giggled at the feeling of the wind in her hair.

"I love swinging!" She announced happily. The boy beside her grinned.

"ME TOO!" He shouted gleefully before falling into a bout of cackling. Sakura joined him, though she giggled instead. For a few more moments, the two were silent as they enjoyed the feeling of the breeze and the rush as they ascended and descended from the sky together.

This was so much fun! Somehow, it was even more fun swinging with someone else than it was alone. When swinging alone, all Sakura got to do was push her legs up and down. Now she was swinging her legs and pulling her side forward in tandem with someone else. If they didn't move together it wouldn't work. Somehow, doing this joint act was exhilarating. Relying and working with someone else was so much fun!

Was this what being friends with someone felt like? But didn't friends know each other's names? Sakura turned to the blonde boy.

"What's your name?" She asked. He blinked and looked over at her with a grin.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Who're you?" He asked buoyantly. Sakura blinked at his exuberance. She smiled. Was he excited to be friends too? Did he know she wanted to be his friend? Sakura wanted to think so. Naruto seemed to be enjoying playing together just as much as she was.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. Its nice to meet you." There, she had even used the manners Oka-san made her practice. A moment of silence echoed between them and Sakura felt a little nervous. What were they supposed to talk about now? She'd read about friends in books and friends were supposed to enjoy talking to one another. Taking a leap of faith, Sakura tried to open up an avenue of conversation.

"I'm here with my mom. She's working on a construction project here. Why are you here?" She asked curiously. Unless she was mistaken this was some kind of administration hotspot for the ninja forces. What could Naruto be doing here?

"I'm here to see Hokage-Jiji. He's going to help me study for the academy entrance exam." For a moment, Sakura froze in surprise at hearing Naruto's irreverent way of referencing the Hokage. Frantically, she looked about to see if any scary ANBU were coming to take them away.

Nope. Just a clear, blue sky. Maybe Naruto was allowed to talk that way about the Hokage? Or maybe the ANBU were just busy elsewhere? Dismissing it at as fluke, Sakura turned her attention to the rest of Naruto's statement.

"Academy entrance exam?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yup! This is the ninja academy and admin-is-stray-shun center. It's where people start learning to be ninjas and where real ninjas get their missions! Hokage-Jiji is supposed to meet me so he can help me learn some more before the test. Its in two days! If I pass, I can start attending classes at the academy. I'll be one step closer to being Hokage, believe it!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. He seemed to get really excited about learning to be a ninja.

"You want to be a ninja?" Sakura asked.

"Uh-huh! I'm gonna be really cool and really strong and then I'll protect everyone in the village, so they'll have to like me!" Naruto declared.

"If you're a ninja, you can protect people?" Sakura asked in confusion. Oka-san had always said ninja hurt and that they'd kidnap her and take her away if she ever talked to one or got into trouble.

"Of course! That's what all the ninja do now for us! They protect us from the fiends of Iwa and the other bad guys!" Sakura listened intently as she nibbled her lip. The way Naruto described ninja didn't sound like her Oka-san described them at all. Naruto's descriptions sounded… cool. For a moment, Sakura imagined it: someone who could fight and harm but chose to do so in a way that protected instead. She wished someone like that would come along and protect Oka-san. Sakura's mother always seemed so scared of the world.

A scary idea entered Sakura's mind and she shook her head violently to get rid of it. Nonetheless, it remained.

"Sakura? What's da matter?" Naruto looked at her with concern and Sakura realized how strange she must be acting. Still, this was important. She'd act 'normal' later.

"Can anyone become a ninja, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, if they can enter the academy and pass all the exams. Why?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Do you think I could be one?"

"Ehh? You wanna be ninja too? That'd be so cool! Maybe we could be in the same class and become awesome ninja together! Ney, Ney, take the exam with me. You seem pwetty smart, I bet you could pass!" Sakura was barely listening anymore. Her heart thumped rapidly inside of her chest as her mind spiraled out of control. Her mother would never knowingly allow it… but maybe… maybe Sakura could be the good ninja that swooped in and saved everyone. Then Oka-san wouldn't have to be afraid or scream anymore!

"Hai! I will!" Sakura grinned over at her new friend. She was about to ask about the time and place for the exam when she was interrupted by an elderly voice.

"Have you found a friend, Naruto?" The voice came from far below. As one, Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other before slowing the rapid motion of the swing. They had been going quite fast.

The speaker was an old man. The elder wore a white over coat, a red robe tied with a white sash, and an odd-looking hat. The hat was shaped somewhat like the grass hats Sakura had seen farmers wear but was made out of a different material and red instead. It also lacked the grass hats' distinctly circular shape. Instead, the hat looked more like a rhombus or diamond but kept the coned point of the grass hat. The front tip was whit with red kanji and white fabric hung down around the sides like some kind of veil. The man's skin tone appeared tan and wrinkled with age. Three wrinkles dripped down from each eye in such perfect symmetry that Sakura somehow doubted their authenticity as wrinkles. The man puffed softly at a wooden pipe in his mouth.

"Jiji!" Naruto belted out. The blonde hopped energetically off the swing and ran over to give the old man a hug.

"Hello, Naruto." The old man returned Naruto's exuberant greeting with his own calmer tone. Seeing the grin shared between the two somewhat eased Sakura's unease, but she was still thinking on who Naruto had claimed to call Jiji.

The Hokage.

Most powerful ninja in the village and he was right there! What if he summoned the ANBU and they took her away? She'd never get to see Oka-san again!

Sakura summoned the dregs of her courage and tried to make herself appear normal. Maybe if he thought she was just another citizen he'd go away? Normal people were polite, right? Like Oka-san wanted her to be.

Carefully, Sakura stood and brush down her green dress self-consciously before stepping forward.

"Greetings, Hokage-sama." Sakura didn't know whether to curtsy or to dip her head in respect. So as not to appear rude, she did both. The Hokage chuckled and Sakura dared to look up. What she saw relieved her. Mirth had crossed the Hokage's stern face and warmth lit soft pools of fire in his eyes.

"Hello there, Little one. What might your name be?"

"I am Sakura Haruno, Hokage-sama."

"I see. Its nice to meet you, Haruno-chan. I'm afraid I'll have to steal your playmate now. We have some important studying to do, right Naruto?" The old man looked to the child still wrapped partially around his legs.

"Right!" Naruto agreed excitedly. However, he quickly frowned. "But what about Sakura-chan? She wants to be a ninja too. Can she come and learn as well?" The Hokage frowned a little and turned to look back at Sakura. Instead of mirth, his visage now held intense scrutiny. Sakura felt as if she were a bug under one of the magnifying glasses she had been reading about.

"Is that so, young lady?" The Hokage asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I-I would like to enter the academy and train with Naruto." Sakura stuttered out. Her heart had somehow increased its tempo even more. Sakura wondered if it would try to jump out of her with all the extra exercise it was getting.

"Normally, students don't begin taking academy classes until they are seven or eight. However, enrollment is open for all that can pass the entrance exam. Tell me, do you know how to read, Haruno-chan? Can you write and calculate numbers?" Sakura blinked at his question. Of course she could do that, even babies could!

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura allowed a little of her inner cheer to show in her voice.

* * *

"In two days' time, the entrance exam will take place here at 8:30 in the morning. Normally, you would need special approval to apply to take the entrance exam. However, since you and Naruto seem to be such good friends, and I'm sure you'll support each other, I'll allow you a special pass. When you come to take the test, give the examiner this form. Make sure to have your guardian sign it and fill out all of the necessary information." The aged ninja reached into his outer robe and pulled out a stack of paperwork. He had been planning to help Naruto fill out the forms today, but he could always print out another set later. With a smile, he handed the forms to the little pink haired child. There was nothing Sarutobi loved more than seeing the youth of Konoha filled with the heart of fire. Normally, he really would have her mother petition the council to take the exam early, but it seemed as though Naruto had finally found a friend and Haruno-chan seemed very well spoken for a child of her age. Turning Sarutobi caught a long look at the grin Naruto shared with his new friend.

Yes, Sarutobi was sure he had made the right choice. Even if one of them wasn't quite able to keep up with Academy curriculum, Sarutobi was sure they would help each other out. Sarutobi waited until the children had given their goodbyes before tugging Naruto away. While he was sure Sakura would do fine from her clear speech alone, Naruto still needed to review some of his reading skills.

* * *

Its finally here! I had such a hard time deciding where to start this because technically I had so many choices on how they meet and what was going to happen. Still, I really like this one. No stupid crush on Sasuke! YAY! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will likely be written... within the next month? Maybe? Meh, see you then!

~Blitza


	2. Chapter 2

For anyone with doubts... No . I don't own Naruto. Surprising right?

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe it.

Somebody else was sitting in his swing! Jiji had ordered that swing be put up just for him and there was somebody else swinging in it!

"Hey!" Naruto barked at the pink haired girl on his swing. She startled and opened bright green eyes in surprise.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion. The green eyes settled on Naruto eerily before sliding out of focus. Naruto waited for her to say something more, but it seemed as if the girl's focus was somewhere else entirely. Naruto frowned. He hated being ignored.

"You're in my swing!" Naruto accused boldly.

"Yes? I am?" The pink girl asked innocently. She tilted her brightly colored head to the side and looked at Naruto in confusion.  
Naruto found himself blushing, somehow the anger he had felt dissipated quickly. The little pink haired girl was adorable! Much like a baby puppy or kitten, Naruto mused. He couldn't make her leave, it'd be like… like… kicking a puppy! Naruto pouted a looked away.

"Um… it's okay. You can swing too." Naruto murmured softly. He was about to turn to go sit on the nearby bench when the girl spoke up again.

"Share with me." Green eyes brightened in determination as they glared at him imperiously. Suddenly, Naruto felt as if the cute puppy had mysteriously become an Inuzuka nin dog instead.

"Huh?" Naruto stuttered in surprise. Where had that baby like innocence gone to?

"There's room for two, and we both want to swing. So, lets swing together." It took a moment for Naruto to register the meaning of her words. She wanted him… to swing with her?! Yes, she really didn't seem so much the adorably innocent kitten now, but Naruto felt equally as happy with her kind, bossy exterior so long as she actually wanted to play with him.

"Okay!" Naruto cried gleefully. Naruto happily hopped onto the swing beside the girl. He grinned at her before beginning to swing. After a few moments, their legs synchronized, and the swing began to move. Naruto tried to grin wider. He wasn't sure if he managed but he hoped it was enough to convey how happy he was. This was awesome! This was one of the few times he had swing with someone and the girl was really good at it. She seemed to really like swinging too, cuz there was a vivid smile resting beneath her small nose. The pinkette giggled happily.

"I love swinging!" she cried out.

"ME TOO!" Naruto shouted joyfully. He continued swinging with the pink girl for a few more minutes, merely enjoying the rare positive presence of someone his age.

"What's your name?" The girl asked suddenly. Naruto blinked. Then he grinned.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Who're you?" Naruto asked. So far, she seemed really nice and he didn't see any angry parents around. Maybe, if he was careful, maybe they could be friends?

"I'm Sakura Haruno. It's nice to meet you." The girl, Sakura greeted. Naruto thought she sounded a little funny, like the books Jiji always tried to get him to read. Still, Sakura's name was pretty, and it matched her hair perfectly. She must have super cool parents! Naruto wished he could meet them but figured it was best if he avoided them. Parents didn't really like him to play with their kids.

"I'm here with my mom. She's working on a construction project here. Why are you here?" Sakura asked. Naruto was a little surprised at her curiosity. Most kids didn't bother with things like that. They just wanted to play.

"I'm here to see Hokage-Jiji. He's going to help me study for the academy entrance exam." Naruto boasted happily. He couldn't wait! The thought of taking the exam and entering the academy made heated excitement bubble up in his stomach. Naruto was definitely going to become a great ninja, believe it!

The girl looked around worriedly and Naruto frowned a little. Was it going to rain? There weren't any clouds though…

"Academy entrance exam?" Sakura asked curiously. Naruto, if possible, grinned brighter.

"Yup! This is the ninja academy and admin-is-stray-shun center. It's where people start learning to be ninjas and where real ninjas get their missions! Hokage-Jiji is supposed to meet me so he can help me learn some more before the test. It's in two days! If I pass, I can start attending classes at the academy. I'll be one step closer to being Hokage, believe it!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air forcefully. He didn't care what anyone else thought. He really would do it someday!

"You want to be a ninja?" Sakura asked. Naruto noticed that she didn't seem as excited before but figured she must just be surprised. He was getting into the academy two years early after all. Jiji said it was 'quite an achievement'.

"Uh-huh! I'm gonna be really cool and really strong and then I'll protect everyone in the village, so they'll have to like me!" Naruto boasted. He loved telling people how great a ninja he would become. What made it even better was that Sakura seemed to actually believe him! Awesome! Dattebayo!

"If you're a ninja, you can protect people?" Sakura's question made Naruto still. Of course, ninja protected people. How could Sakura not know that?

"Of course! That's what all the ninja do now for us! They protect us from the fiends of Iwa and the other bad guys!" Naruto explained. Again, Naruto wondered how Sakura didn't know this. It was basic stuff! Even babies should know it! Then, Sakura began to shake her head quickly. Naruto watched in confusion as she did it. Didn't shaking her neck like that hurt?

"Sakura? What's da matter?" He asked her worriedly. Was she hurt? Did she get a bug bite? The pink haired girl stilled at Naruto's question before turning back to face him abruptly. Naruto flinched slightly from the focused, ultra-sharp green gaze.

"Can anyone become a ninja, Naruto?" Sakura asked seriously.

"Yeah, if they can enter the academy and pass all the exams. Why?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion. Shouldn't she know this, too? Jiji was always telling him things like this as if they were obvious and that everyone should know.

"Do you think I could be one?" It took exactly a split second for Naruto the register Sakura's question. The next half-second was spent replacing his worry and confusion with heart bursting joy and excitement.

"Ehh? You wanna be ninja too? That'd be so cool! Maybe we could be in the same class and become awesome ninja together! Ney, Ney, take the exam with me. You seem pwetty smart, I bet you could pass!" Naruto babbled happily. The excitement in his stomach just kept bubbling out into words and sentences as he continued to pester Sakura towards being in his class.

"Hai! I will!" Sakura agreed determinedly. Naruto grinned at the first full face grin he'd ever seen Sakura grin. This was great! Now, Sakura was all fired up too!

"Have you found a friend, Naruto?" The aged voice came from below and Naruto immediately knew who it was. Together, Sakura and he brought the swing to a stop.

"Jiji!" Naruto cried cheerfully. Naruto bolted off the swing and into a hug with Jiji. Soft cotton robes met his cheeks as Naruto hugged the old leader tightly.

"Hello, Naruto." The Third greeted warmly as he reached down to wrap his own strong arms around the young blonde. Naruto heard Sakura hop off the swing also and walk over. He loosened from his hug just in time to see her formally greet the Hokage.

"Greetings, Hokage-sama." Sakura murmured meekly. Naruto wrinkled his nose. Why did she have to go be all formal and stuff? She was talking normally just a few minutes ago…

"Hello there, Little one. What might your name be?" Jiji asked gently. Amusement twinkled in his eyes and Naruto wondered what he found funny about Sakura acting all stiff.

"I am Sakura Haruno, Hokage-sama." Sakura answered even more formally. Naruto openly grimaced. If this kept up he'd have to fake being sick or something. Manners were gross!

"I see. It's nice to meet you, Haruno-chan. I'm afraid I'll have to steal your playmate now. We have some important studying to do, right Naruto?" Jiji looked down at Naruto and he brightened.

"Right!" Naruto agreed excitedly. However, he quickly frowned. "But what about Sakura-chan? She wants to be a ninja too. Can she come and learn as well?" Jiji frowned and looked back at Sakura. For a long few moments, the old man seemed to be thinking about something. Sakura shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

"Is that so, young lady?" Jiji asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I-I would like to enter the academy and train with Naruto." Sakura stuttered out. Naruto grinned. She wanted to come be a ninja to be with him! Wow! She was a great friend! Naruto couldn't wait till they got to take classes together. They'd be awesome! He just knew it!

"Normally, students don't begin taking academy classes until they are seven or eight. However, enrollment is open for all that can pass the entrance exam. Tell me, do you know how to read, Haruno-chan? Can you write and calculate numbers?" Naruto frowned. Did Sakura know how to do all that? Naruto could, but only because Jiji taught him. The reading aloud bit was still really hard too.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Sakura replied confidently. Naruto blinked. She looked really confident, maybe Sakura was really smart?

"In two days' time, the entrance exam will take place here at 8:30 in the morning. Normally, you would need special approval to apply to take the entrance exam. However, since you and Naruto seem to be such good friends, and I'm sure you'll support each other, I'll allow you a special pass. When you come to take the test, give the examiner this form. Make sure to have your guardian sign it and fill out all of the necessary information." Jiji explained. Sakura took the paper and nodded determinedly. Then she turned to grin at Naruto.

"See you there, Ruto." Sakura said. Naruto grinned from ear to ear. She had given him a nickname. Cool!

"Okay, Kura!" Naruto replied. Then, Jiji also bid the pink girl good bye before pulling Naruto to leave.

"Thanks, Jiji!" Naruto grinned up. The third looked down in surprise.

"What for?" He asked in amused bewilderment.

"For giving Sakura a chance. Most kids aren't allowed ta enter the academy so early, right?"

"Well, consider it incentive. That Sakura girl seems exceptionally bright for her age. If you don't hunker down and study, she'll beat you into the academy." The old man chuckled mirthfully as he led Naruto down the main road of Konoha. Behind them, the red Hokage residence stood tall and proud. Its shadow traveled under their feet heavily and Naruto smiled at it. One day, that impressive shadow would be his!

"Don't worry, Jiji. No matter what, I'm gonna do it! Believe it! So, what do I need to do?" Naruto asked cockily.

"Well for now, why don't you order some ramen?" Jiji invited Naruto as he shifted the curtains surrounding old man Ichiraku's stall.

"Miso Chashu Pork ramen please!" Naruto crawled on top of the worn leather stool and waved into the restaurant stall. Old man Ichiraku stood heftily behind one of his several stoves. His white chef's uniform remained pristine and stainless despite the many messy substances surrounding him. As usual, a content smile relayed his calm demeanor. The smell of spices and fresh ramen wafted from several boiling or cooling pots. All in all, a place and chef fit for cooking the food of the gods.

"Coming right up, Naruto." Ichiraku grinned and added another pot of water to the stove. From within the washroom, Naruto could hear the sound of Ichiraku's daughter getting onto a dish boy for something.

"Good morning Teuchi-san. May I have some pork ramen with a few shrimp added in?" Jiji asked as he too sat down on one of the old stools next to the counter.

"Sure thing, Hokage-sama." Ichiraku agreed amiably. The man quickly began to bustle around the kitchen. For a few moments, Naruto watched him contently. If he wasn't already going to be a ninja, Naruto might have begged for an apprenticeship under the old man. He was a genius at his art.

Then Naruto turned the Third Hokage.

"Ne, Jiji! What do I have'ta learn to pass the test?"

"Well, Like I told your new friend, you need to know basic math and how to read and write. I know you've got the numbers down, but sometimes you still have trouble reading aloud. So today we'll be practicing your reading." Naruto groaned.

"But Jiji! That's so boring! Why can't we do more ninja stuff like numbers or mem'ry?"

"Because Naruto, reading is very important to being a ninja. If you can't read how will you understand mission statements or medical issues? Or, even the maps and road signs on the way to a mission? Reading is a very important skill for ninja, Naruto. It is the basis of one of the most important attributes of being a shinobi."

"Huh? Whatcha mean?"

"Reading is the simplest form of information gathering. Without information gathering enemies could sneak up on us, plant traps in our way, or even get he upper hand due to mysterious abilities."

Naruto was quiet for a few more moments.

"Do I have ta learn it?" He whined. The Third Hokage looked heavenward as a reluctant fondness tiptoed across his heart.

"Yes, Naruto. You do." Sarutobi told the stubborn child. "Don't worry. If you can't learn it in time, Sakura seems like the kind of girl who would stay behind a year to wait on you."

"Ehhh?! No way! I'll learn it! Sakura won't have to wait on me." Naruto declared

"Good. Now that you're ready to study, I brought a book I want you to read aloud to me." The Hokage reached into the folds of his robe to pull out a brightly colored child's book. A rainbow fish swam across its cover cheerfully.

"Erk!" Naruto grimaced. "You know, I'm sure I'd be able ta study better after eating. Yup, eating!" The blonde looked around as if hoping his ramen order would magically appear.

"Now come on, Naruto. I thought you were going to keep up with Salura?" Jiji slowly slid the open child's book over to Naruto's portion of the counter.

"But reading's hard…"

"Then I suggest you get working on it. Now come on, start on the first bit."

"T-there was o-nce a ruh-aen-bow fis-huh- er- fish…"

* * *

And there we go... one more chapter of sannin switch closer to my goal mwahahahaha!

Ahem...

So, Summer is still kicking my behind so I still can't wait to go back to be a jobless college student who only has to worry about homework. Yippee.

Have fun, please review if you enjoyed my story!


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura happily skipped about in the Konoha market. Colorful booths and shops lined the way and the people traipsing under them were just as colorful and unique. Sakura giggled at the sight of one particularly old and gnarly woman giving a telling off to two paint colored boys. The taller, brown headed child sported peculiar red inverted triangles on his check. The other was a bright blonde that Sakura quickly began to gravitate towards. Unfortunately, a second meet up with her new friend was not to happen.

"Sakura!" Mebuki called from down the street. The blond woman had put her hands on her hips in irritation at Sakura's flighty nature. Sakura immediately perked up and hurried back to her mother. Oka-san was in a good mood today; there was no need to spoil it. If she behaved, perhaps she would even be given some dango!

"Stop dawdling. We're here to buy groceries today and if we're too late we'll miss the sale." Mebuki rebuked Sakura. The woman's lips tightened in distaste before she grabbed Sakura's hand. "Now come along." The blonde ordered her child before pulling her further down the way. Her grip was bruise tight, but Sakura dared not complained. Her mother only did it out of love after all. Bad things happened to little girls who wandered the village on their own. Mother said so.

Together, the two hurried down Konoha's main road and to a little corner booth. Here, Mebuki quickly dropped Sakura's hand to start poking through the fresh vegetables on the booth's counter-top.

"I'll take this one, a bag of rice, and some of your soy sauce, please."

"Good choice, that one is just ripe!" Miss Yunaka, the dark-haired booth attendant, cooed approvingly. "Did you bring this week's coupon, Ms. Haruno? It'll give you a forty percent off discount."

"Yes." Mebuki quickly handed over the colorful waiver before pulling out her faded satchel.

"Okie-dokie! That'll be 1,000 yen please." Yunaka announced cheerfully. Sakura frowned.

"No, it's not." Sakura disagreed.

"Huh?"

"That's not right. It should be nine hundred and sixty-seven yen."

"Sakura." Mebuki gripped Sakura's shoulder in warning.

"But its true! The soy sauce is three hundred and ninety-five, the rice is a three-kilogram bag and its three hundred and five yen per kilogram, so that's nine hundred and fifteen. The broccoli is three hundred yen so altogether that makes one thousand, six hundred and ten yen. But, the coupon is a forty percent off, so it cuts it down to nine hundred and sixty-seven with tax!" Sakura said in a rush. Heat pooled in her cheeks as she puffed out her answer. Sakura hated being told to be quiet when she _knew_ she was right!

"Sakura!" Mebuki growled angrily. The grip on Sakura's shoulder became bruising and the girl squirmed. Tears came to her eyes. It wasn't fair! Sakura knew she was right, and the store lady was wrong so why couldn't she just say so! Sakura hated living like a stupid person! It wasn't any fun at all!

"Ah!" Both Harunos looked up at the shop keeper's exclamation. The dark-haired woman was bent over a slip of paper with a pencil in hand. "You're right! It really should be nine hundred and sixty-seven yen!" Yunaka looked back up as she continued. "That's amazing! You must be so proud to have such a smart daughter. All my daughter does is watch television and play with lizards."

"A-ah, yes. Sakura is… very bright." Mebuki murmured as her eye twitched. The iron grip on Sakura's shoulder relaxed but the tension between mother and daughter remained fraught with heavy disproval.

"So, that'll be nine hundred and sixty-seven yen, please!" Yunaka said brightly. Mebuki's lips tilted in a strained mimicry of a smile before she handed over the required yen. Yunaka grinned and happily handed over the bagged groceries.

"Thank you for your purchase, have a wonderful day, Ms. Haruno." Yunaka waved good bye before turning back to her wares and other customers. Meanwhile, Mebuki gripped her daughter's shoulder tightly and steered the both of them away before leaning down to whisper harshly to her daughter. Sakura grimaced and tried to pull away from her mother's chastisement. She'd heard it all before, but that didn't mean it didn't sting. As her mother led her to the next shopping stop, Sakura pouted. She didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to tell people they were wrong. It made no sense!

Meanwhile, unnoticed to both Haruno ladies, a young man with round, silver glasses watched them carefully from his place at the next restaurant. Beside him, his most recent team mates laughed and joked merrily, but the smile on this genin's face was not filled with joy and delight. Rather, it was filled with a cruel, unholy, glee. His master had wondered where Mebuki had gone.

Sasuke grinned before taking another bite of his tomato sandwich. Today was the best! Mother had cooked tomato omelets for breakfast and Aniki had told him he would spend the whole day with him! And he had! Sasuke knew his brother tried to spend time with him, but recently Itachi's missions had become even more frequent and they had gotten longer too. Yet today, Itachi had spent the whole day with him! He'd been there at breakfast, telling Sasuke not to choke from eating too fast. Then, he'd given Sasuke a new set of training clothes and told him to go get dressed. When Sasuke had come back downstairs, Itachi had told him that he would take him training! And he had! They had spent the whole morning working through senbon, kunai, and then the great fire ball technique. Itachi had even helped Sasuke figure out how to make fire and not just smoke! It had been awesome! Sasuke loved getting to spend time with his favorite person doing his second favorite thing.

Now, the two were at a new sandwich place that had just opened up near the Uchiha district. Sasuke had never been here before, but Itachi had noticed their tomato sandwiches and brought Sasuke just so the younger brother could try it. Sasuke sighed in contentment as another blast of delicious spicy mayo and tomato washed across his tongue. Across from him, Itachi watched the boy with a content gleam in his eyes.

"That good?" Itachi asked with a pleasant smile. His soft, ember warm chakra lapped at Sasuke's attention like the pleasant warmth of a cloudless day.

"Mmmhmm!" Sasuke hummed as he swallowed. Things had been so different since his last birthday. Itachi had started to spend what felt like every off-mission moment with him and Sasuke loved it. He had never felt so loved and treasured in his life. Every day was filled with something new that his Aniki was teaching him. Even when away on missions, Aniki either left a clone or hired an entire Genin team to play with him. Sometimes Sasuke felt like his brother was being too much, but the extra time to spend with Aniki was worth it! Aniki always acted like Sasuke was the most important thing in the world and Sasuke loved it. To know that Aniki thought he was worth his time… it made Sasuke feel comforted somewhere deep inside that had never felt warm before. Sasuke felt wanted for perhaps the first time of his life. The boy finally felt like he was _enough._ That he wasn't a mistake, unwanted, or lacking in anyway.

Though…

Sasuke frowned as he thought of the last year.

Otou-san didn't talk to him anymore. Even if before he had always been disproving and disappointed, Father had always had something to say to him. Now, it felt like the house froze every time Sasuke was caught within sight of that raging, bitter chakra. It hurt. In a weird, not quite pain somewhere in between his lungs.

"Hey, no sad thoughts today. Its time to celebrate your fifth birthday now that I'm off mission," Itachi reached out and gently flicked his brother's forehead. As usual, it had the desired effect.

"Aniki! Stop it!" Sasuke pouted as he held both chubby hands over his forehead. His light brown eyes pinched at the corners in annoyance and Itachi grinned in response. Sasuke looked away and continued pouting. Aniki always did this! He could be so annoying sometimes! The dark-haired child took an angry bite of sandwich before washing it down with some of his orange juice. The tangy, sour-sweet taste sprinkled his throat and mouth with tingly citrus acid.

Taking another quick bite, Sasuke finished off the remainder of his sandwich. Full, the child gave a content sigh and slouched a little. Today really was the best, even if Aniki could be an annoying adult sometimes.

"Otouto, are you full?" Aniki asked after Sasuke finished off the rest of his orange juice.

"Yes. It was very good, Aniki." Sasuke answered truthfully. He smiled at the feel of his big brother's warm chakra. It seeped steadily into the area around him like the warmth of a fire.

"Good. Now, its time for some birthday shopping." Itachi murmured as he laid down a few thousand yen and a little extra as a tip. Despite being a sandwich place, this little deli was quite high priced due to its high-quality ingredients and experienced staff. Sasuke's eyes widened. Hadn't Aniki already bought him his gift with the new training suit?

"Birthday shopping? But you already got me a new training outfit, Aniki."

"I know, but you needed one anyway. This is just something because you want it. Now remember Otouto, you may pick any one thing from any store you like." Itachi murmured soothingly as he grabbed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke's eyes lit up. He got two presents this year? This was the best birthday ever (even if it was late because Otou-san insisted Aniki go on that really long mission). Sasuke grinned happily up at his brother as he was led more towards the center of the village, towards the center plaza with the bigger stores. As they walked, the scenery changed from high end restaurants and mansions, to smaller, less costly places and apartment buildings. Eventually, they settled into the colorful heart of Konoha; the market square.

Sasuke gazed about it in awe. Normally, he was only allowed to come to such a public place on special occasions like a festival or his birthday. Father always said that Uchiha couldn't be seen among the riff-raff or the plebes but Sasuke loved being in the market. It was so bright and lively.

When he was younger, Sasuke had been put off by all of the different chakras and had cried a lot every time he had come to the market. Now that he was older however, Sasuke found the clashing chakras interesting and fun. He loved watching people interact with one another while sensing their chakra dance and weave.

The brothers were just entering the market square (which Sasuke thought was weird because it wasn't really shaped like a square), when something bright orange bowled into them. Itachi stumbled while Sasuke was sent sprawling with the orange creature a dead weight on top of him. Thankfully, Sasuke was able to roll a little with the force of it so he didn't hit his head. The orange beast was not nearly as lucky as the two went tumbling on the cobblestone road.

"Owww…." Sasuke blinked up at the cloudless sky and rooftops before looking over at the orange thing. A blonde kid, maybe a year or two younger(1) than him was curled up in the street. He wore a tan shirt with a red spiral and some dark green capris. The only issue with his neutral clothing was that just about every inch of it was covered in neon orange paint. His bony hands rubbed at his head furiously but Sasuke was gratified not to see any tears. His younger cousins were scary when they cried.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Itachi appeared in Sasuke's sight.

"Ah, I'm not hurt, Aniki." Sasuke answered his brother. The elder Uchiha held out a hand and Sasuke gladly took it. Once he was up, the tomato loving boy turned back to the blonde.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked as he stepped forward a little. If the kid started crying he was going to run away, but so long as the little boy stayed tearless Sasuke didn't mind cheering him up. The blond stopped rubbing the back or his head and blinked up at Sasuke. The kid didn't reply so Sasuke took another step forward in concern. He glanced at his brother for help and bit his lip. Aniki was frowning and had a weird look in his eyes.

"I'm okay." Sasuke blinked and turned back to the little kid. The blonde had stopped rubbing the back of his head and was instead looking at them with strangely sharp blue eyes. Now that Sasuke was looking closer, he noticed strange whisker-like marks on the young child's face. Was he from a clan? Strange, Sasuke hadn't heard of a clan with whisker marks. Maybe a very minor clan? One that wasn't into politics or the ninja arts, perhaps?

"You! Brat!" A sudden, high pitched shriek erupted form behind Sasuke and he felt his brother pull him to the side. A burly, heavy set old woman pushed her way through where Sasuke had just been a few seconds prior. Splotches of orange decorated her front and was literally soaked into her graying hair. Her wrinkled left hand held the collar of a similarly orange covered Inuzuka. The kid's clan markings stood out against his pale complexion. The dog clan member was apparently terrified.

Sasuke suddenly felt no pity for the younger boy who had clearly done what he should not have. Looking down, Sasuke realized a few patches of paint had even gotten onto his clothing from their brief tumble. He frowned. Aniki had just bought him this training outfit!

"Just what do you think you two were doing to my stall?" The old woman demanded as she roughly deposited the Inuzuka kid next to his younger friend. Both of the kids made an effort to look anywhere but at the old lady. Muttering under her breath, the woman reached down and pulled the blond kid up. She did however, do it quite a bit more gently than she had with the Inuzuka kid. Probably because the blonde was quite a bit younger than his fellow troublemaker. Then, to Sasuke's surprise (she was _really_ old looking) the aged woman knelt down on her own knees to look the kid right in the eyes.

"Brat. Do not make me take away your ramen. I've seen how you much of it you buy every second Saturday of the month form the corner store next to my stall." The old lady spoke conversationally. However, getting his ramen taken away was apparently enough to start the water works for the little kid.

"But Kiba saided ya wanted your stall repainted! We didn't mean ta dump tha bucket on ya! Yer a scary ramen thief!(2)" The little kid's tears rolled out of his squinched up eyes. Sasuke grimaced and took another step back. There were the waterworks. Time to go. Looking up at his brother, Sasuke did his best to telepathically share his wish to leave. Thankfully, Aniki was apparently part Yamanaka, because one corner of Aniki's mouth twitched up and his eye brows quirked in amusement. Then Itachi's gentle hands guided Sasuke away from the soon-to-be snot-fest.

The brothers continued with their birthday shopping, Sasuke did his best to banish the snotty blonde from his mind. It was just a kid who had gotten caught up in the older Inuzuka boy's prank. Yet… Sasuke couldn't help but glance back once as he walked away.

That kid's chakra… it felt like a decaying forest.

Sasuke hated sick plants.

* * *

1 No, Naruto isn't younger, he's just smaller so Sasuke is assuming he's younger. Living on Ramen isn't very good for growing up instead of out after all. And yes, there is a purpose to this misconception.

2 Naruto has never had someone correct his speech constantly. Occasional meetings with the Hokage can only do so much. Conversely, Sasuke may not be well liked by his father, but Fugaku would never allow him to speak without speaking very well. Also, because Sasuke hasn't spent a whole lot of time around people who haven't been raised to be stuck up, he's going to take this as another sign of Naruto's 'younger age' rather than Naruto just talking like your average five year old. Because yeah, my eight year old brother (despite being extremely smart) still says things like hurted and other wrong verb tenses. Also, a lot of kids don't catch on to verb tenses till school and Naruto's never been.

* * *

Okay, sorry its been so long, but I think the introduction of Sasuke was worth the wait, right? He's harder to write because there's so little on him when he wasn't a jaded little emo bug. Also, another quick look into Sakura's everyday life with her mom. And of course Naruto... who realllllllyyyyy loves that ramen. And orange paint.

Please review because lets face it... reviews are what make me want to write something faster and I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I'm writing this because I want more good team seven fics and because I want some happy commentary to boost my self-esteem.

~Blitza


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto hummed happily to himself as he skipped through the market. Two brand new buckets of orange paint weighed heavily in his arms, but he made an effort to skip normally in his jovial mood. Tomorrow he would be taking the exam to become a ninja!

Well, okay. To be accepted into a ninja school. But still, ninja training would eventually mean ninja, so there was no harm in being excited a little early, right?

Plus, Naruto would even be learning how to be a ninja with his cool new friend! Naruto closed his eyes in bliss before rounding a corner.

"Oof!" Naruto huffed as he slammed into another young body. He skittered back a few feet and tumbled onto his behind. The paint buckets clattered loudly, and one rolled a little ways away from him.

"Hey!" A gruff sounding voice cried in outrage. Naruto blinked dazedly before looking at who he had run into. A brown-haired kid about his age stood in front of him. He looked a little scruffy with stains and dirt here or there, yet despite this, Naruto could tell that the boy's clothes had been of fine quality when they had been bought. The real things that grabbed Naruto's attention were the strange triangular marks on the boy's cheeks. This boy was from a clan.

"Ummm… sorry? Naruto offered somewhat nervously. Most clan kids were super snooty. Naruto really didn't like talking to them because they always looked down on him based on his looks or cleanliness. Normally when Naruto interacted with them, they complained about how dirty he was. Meanwhile, Naruto always felt as if they smelled like chemicals from all the expensive soaps they were dumped in. Thankfully, this clan child smelt oddly natural, like the expensive soap Jiji would buy Naruto after Naruto complained about the normal soap at the store.

The clan boy huffed for another minute and folded his arms imperiously. Naruto grimaced and got ready to move away in case the boy decided to be mean about it. Luckily, after a moment of grandstanding, the boy relaxed and let loose a grin. A single enlarged fang slipped past his upturned lips.

"Its 'kay. I fworgive you." The clan kid offered a hand to Naruto. Naruto paused skeptically but quickly extended his hand when the clan kid's invitation wasn't withdrawn. The boy easily hefted Naruto to his feet and even stood an inch or so taller than Naruto. The blond resisted the urge to pout. The only `person his height was Sakura, and she was a girl! No fair!

"My name's Kiba. What's yours?" Kiba asked.

"I'm Naruto." Naruto answered. He was happy when the other kid didn't shy away upon hearing his name. Sometimes other kids did that for some reason. Maybe their parents heard about all the pranks Naruto pulled?

"Like the noodle?" Kiba tilted his head to the side and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Naruto felt his face heat up at Kiba's question.

"No! Like the storm! My name means May-el-strum." Naruto carefully enunciated the word Jiji had taught him. He didn't really know what a maelstrom was, but Jiji said they were super powerful and cool, even cooler than ramen!

Kiba, if anything, looked even more confused.

"That's not a word." The boy huffed. Kiba's thick eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Is too!" Naruto argued. It was too a word! His parents named him that in the hopes that he would be a strong ninja when he grew up! Jiji said so!

"No, it's not!" Kiba argued.

"Is too! And I can prove it." Naruto announced as an idea struck him.

"Is not! And I bet you can't!"

"Can too! Now come on, we gotta go ta the libwawy." Naruto grabbed Kiba's slightly clawed hand and began to pull him in the direction of Konoha's public civilian library. It was a little north of the market center, so not too far from where they were.

"What? Whyyyyyy?" Kiba groaned as he dug in his feet. Apparently, the boy was not a fan of the library.

"Cuz, we need a dit-shun-areee. Now hurry up! You're too slow."

"Am not!"

"Then stop digging yer feet in, stupid!"

"Why, you-!"

And off they went.

* * *

Naruto was careful to keep his footsteps light and his breathing shallow as he tiptoed among the huge bookshelves that made up Konoha's civilian library. The building may have been huge, but Naruto was sure the librarian was an ex-ninja or something; she always knew when he was there!

Thus, the best way to avoid her glare was to be super-duper quiet! That way she wouldn't need to shush him and tell Jiji on him again! He had even had the forethought to hide his paint buckets in the bushes instead of bringing them into the library again. Last time was a memory that frequented his infrequent nightmares…

Kiba, a step behind the blond, was likewise trying to pretend he didn't exist. He too had seen the wrath of the librarian and had no intention of getting any more lectures from his mom on who was top dog at the library. If the librarian said quiet, that meant be quiet. Thus… he would be reallllllyyyyy quiet.

Finally, Naruto spied the dictionary he had been looking for. It was a nautical dictionary, full of advanced sea faring terms and how-to's. Unfortunately, it was a bit too high for Naruto to reach. Despite standing on his tippy toes, the blonde's hand fell about a foot short of the book. Kiba snickered and gently pushed Naruto aside. Yet, despite the brown-haired child's confidence (and greater height), his hand also fell a good deal short of the book.

"We can't reach it." Naruto pouted with a huff. At this point, their only option appeared to be requesting the librarian's help. Kiba however, didn't seem quite so forlorn. Rather, a mischievous grin was making its way across his face.

"We can't reach it alone, you mean. Together, we can definitely reach it." Kiba beamed at Naruto. Naruto didn't like that strangely manic grin.

"Huh?" He asked skeptically.

"Come on! I've got an idea!" Kiba whispered excitedly. Somehow, Naruto felt even more wary at that statement.

* * *

"Wh-why do I gotta be on the bottom? You're too heavy!" Naruto whined as he huffed and grunted. Kiba sat on the blond's shoulders; grinning like a loon from his new vantage point. Slowly, Naruto made his way from the table Kiba had used to climb on his shoulders to the book shelf holding the dictionary.

"I came up with the idea, so I get ta be head, you can be the legs." Kiba argued back. Naruto grimaced. He didn't really like the clan kid's logic. The brown-haired boy was heavy. Luckily, he wouldn't be up there for long; Naruto could already hear the soft sound of the book's leather sliding out of the shelf. Now all that was left was to slowly maneuver back to the table for Kiba to climb off. Then they could look at the dictionary.

"Got it!" Kiba exclaimed. Unfortunately, the boy ended up leaning back as he waved the book in the air excitedly. This meant that his weight on Naruto moved off center causing the boy to begin backpedaling in an effort to remain upright.

"Whoa!" Naruto yelped as his feet tangled together clumsily and he found himself falling backwards. Above him, Kiba let out a short shriek as he too toppled down to the ground. Naruto hit the wooden floor with a thud and immediately curled to his side to rub his aching back.

"Ouch!" Naruto groaned. Beside him, Kiba wasn't much different.

"Naruto, why'd you drop me?" Kiba whined as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I didn't mean to. I told you, you were too heavy." Naruto grumbled back. He sat up and met Kiba's glare with his own. The two boys glared at one another for another moment before an adult's voice interrupted them.

"Ano… what are you two doing in the library? Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked up to see a white-haired young man peering down at them. He wore his forehead protector over one eye, similar to an eyepatch and a black mask concealed this lower face. What really interested Naruto was what the man was wearing, however. The man dressed like most ninja with muted colors and thick, durable clothing. But atop that he wore the signature green jounin vest; denoting his jounin rank and ability. This guy was a ninja! A really strong one too!

"Ummm..." Kiba stalled at the sight of the white-haired ninja, though he seemed nervous for some reason. Did the clan kid know this guy? Was that how he knew their names or was it just his super cool ninja powers?

"We're here cuz Kiba won't believe me about my name. So, we're looking it up in the dit-shun-aree." Naruto explained when Kiba did not. "See?" Naruto chirped as he grabbed the nautical dictionary. It had fallen when the boys went tumbling but was thankfully intact. Naruto presented it the ninja carefully.

One of the man's thin eyebrow's rose and he glanced back to the open place on the shelf. It was clearly above both the children's reaches.

"Ah." The ninja's eye quirked up in a sort of smile and Naruto grinned at the sight. "I see. However, I don't think Watanaba-san would be very pleased if she found out you were riding on each other's shoulders in the library. The next time you find a book you can't reach; you should go ask Watanaba-san for help. I'm sure she'd be very happy to help you get the book off the shelf if it means no one drops any more of her books." Naruto looked at the ninja askance.

"But she's scawy!" he whined. The white-haired ninja chuckled.

"Then I suppose you should learn how to get books off the shelf without making her angry." The ninja's tone held a mischievous lilt to it and Naruto realized why as the man stepped to the side. There, hidden by the man's taller stature till now, stood Watanaba-san, the librarian. And she looked angry.

"Well, I'm afraid I've got to get going; too many cats to get out of trees and old ladies to help cross the street. Have a good day, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun." The white-haired ninja waved his hand lazily and walked away. Meanwhile, the two boys were left at the not-so-tender mercies of the librarian.

* * *

"Ouchies…" Naruto mumbled as he followed Kiba out of the library. His ears stung from where Watanaba-san had pinched them. "Why couldn't you juss believe me about my name?" Naruto whined as he bent to pull his paint can from the nearby bushes. The bushes framed the Library doors and were perfect for hiding things in when Naruto didn't want them to get confiscated. Kiba huffed but didn't say anything, rubbing at his own ears instead. After a moment the boy glanced back at Naruto and eyed his paint bucket.

"Why do you have a paint bucket?" Kiba asked curiously. Naruto blinked.

"So I can paint stuff." The blonde answered nonchalantly.

"You're allowed to paint things that aren't paper?" Kiba asked curiously. His mom never let him paint things that weren't paper. She said painting the walls or the dogs was a 'no-no'. Personally, Kiba thought Akamaru would look much better painted crimson red. Naruto grinned proudly.

"Course! Nobody's the boss of me! I live on my own and do whatever I want."

"Wow, really? Not even your parents?" Kiba asked. Naruto's grin faltered before he brought it back twice as big and twice as fake.

"I don't have parents. But if I did, I'm sure they'd let me do whatever I want. Besides, I'm only making the village cooler. I only paint stuff that needs it."

"Neat!" Kiba proclaimed. "What are you going to paint with that? Its orange isn't it?"

"I don't know yet. Do you have any ideas? I like to paint stores bright so that they'll get noticed and people will like their bright colors." Kiba paused a moment to think. Then an absolutely mischievous grin overtook his face. Naruto was too busy daydreaming about his next painting spree to notice.  
"I know who's shop you should paint. They'll love having their shop painted orange."

* * *

The painting job had actually gone remarkably well. Kiba had somehow convinced some other clan kids (they were older but had the similar facial markings) to help distract the owner of the cart while they painted it. Naruto aid special attention not to get paint on any of the yummy red bean buns sitting in the cart. Hopefully, when the old lady came back, she would like the new paint job so much that she would give them a few as a treat.

The big paint reveal however, had not gone remarkably well. As soon as the woman had turned back to her cart, her face had gone from slightly annoyed, to shocked, to absolute rage within a few moments. Within another moment, she spotted Naruto and Kiba.

"YOU!" She shrieked and started forward. Naruto's eyes widened in fear at the sight of the woman. He backpedaled but that only seemed to hurry the woman along. Her gnarled fingers reached for him and Naruto found the image overlaid with the image of an evil witch with spindly, clawed fingers.

"Noooo! I don't wanna die!" Naruto shrieked. He stumbled a few steps and swung his arms in fear. The blonde was so terrified that he forgot about the half-full paint bucket left beside the cart. His arm hit it and the remnants of the paint went flying.

 _Splat!_

Orange goo splashed everyone present: Naruto, Kiba, and the old woman.

If at all possible, her face became even more furious.

Naruto turned tail and ran.

* * *

Poor Naruto. He just doesn't understand that Kiba is an even worse influence than he himself can be (occasionally). Also, I didn't know whether to add in this mini adventure for how Kiba and Naruto meet or go straight to how everybody gets their guardian to sign their academy entrance permission forms (the only person who has their signed is Naruto. For Sakura and Sasuke, its going to be a bit of an uphill battle). In the end, I decided to write this, since it was so cute and funny.

The next chapter will be a little grittier as everyone gets a peek at the Sasuke and Sakura's less than perfect family units.

Have a good day, everyone!

~Blitza


	5. In Which Sakura Teaches and Learns

"Hina-baa-san. I got some water for you," Sakura offered demurely as she held out a glass of water. In front of her, the Haruno's next door neighbor peered confusedly at the glass through her thick, wire rimmed spectacles.

Hina Raichi was an aged woman with as many wrinkles as she had thin, grays strands of hair. She typically wore long skirts and heavy shawls even during the summer; Sakura suspected she had issues with her blood circulation dur to her inability to keep warm. Hina kept her hair pulled back in a well-kept bun but didn't appear stern at all. Rather, the laugh lines and crow's feet that adorned her face hinted at a much more gleeful youth.

As Hina peered bemusedly at the murky contents of the glass, Sakura did her best to appear innocent. Within the glass, two sleeping tablets had been dissolving for quite some time and now only left a foggy residue behind. With any luck, old miss Hina would (rightfully) assume that her eyes weren't as good as they used to be and would drink the glass without any questions.

Once the drugs entered Hina's system, it would only be half an hour more of knitting lessons before the elderly lady was out.

Sakura struggled not to grin.

"Sakura-chan, did you get this straight from the tap? Not anywhere else?" Hina questioned Sakura. Sakura tilted her head to the side by about thirty degrees and blinked twice in false bewilderment.

"Where else would I get water, Hina-baa-san?" Sakura asked, making sure to look genuinely curiously. Sure enough, Hina's eyes pinched at the corners in fondness before the woman reached out to lay a hand on top of Sakura's hair.

"Of, course. Sorry, Sakura-chan. Obaa-san's being silly." Hina smoothed Sakura's hair down a few times and smiled lovingly down at the child. Sakura smiled back, showing her teeth this time. Normally, she smiled with her mouth shut because she thought baring her teeth was too much like a challenge. Yet today, she felt it… oddly appropriate that she bare her… fangs. Sakura's eyes glittered malevolently.

Thirty minutes later, Sakura carefully approached the snoring form of Hina.

 _Poke._

…

 _Poke?_

 _Poke. Poke. Poke._

Sakura nodded to herself, allowing a satisfied upturn of her lips to appear on her face. Hina was out.

Time to get to work.

First, she hurried into the half bath down the hall for some of Mommy's emergency bobby pins. Then, the little girl hurried over to the third room in the house: Oka-san's office. She carefully bent the bobby pin into the position she had found worked best and rubbed her aching fingers afterwards. Sakura pouted silently. Bobby pins were so hard to bend with her little hands! She couldn't wait till she was bigger and stronger.

Momentary pouting over, Sakura carefully inserted the newly made lock pick into the locked knob and began to carefully jiggle. For most other locks, Sakura would need something of a much higher quality and sophistication. Luckily, the locks in the Haruno house were cheap when they were new and hadn't exactly improved over the long years since then.

Click!

The door popped open. Sakura bared her teeth in victory before carefully stepping inside.

The older Haruno's office was kept neat. The wooden desk in the center held a few carefully organized documents along with an ink well and some blank paper. Along the back wall, a wide window delivered hazy, diluted light through the cheap blinds. On another wall, several large bookshelves held a few tomes and knickknacks. Opposite the bookshelves, a few heavy-duty filing cabinets leaned against the other wall.

Sakura looked around hesitantly. She'd only been in here a few times as Mebuki didn't like allowing her daughter into her work area. Slowly, the child approached the desk and peered carefully at the few papers left on the desk. She frowned. None of these had Mommy's signature.

Strange green eyes flickered over to the filing cabinets. Mommy said those had confidential things in them. Therefore, something in there likely had Oka-san's signature.

Sakura nodded to herself and peered at the filing cabinets. All of them were locked, but only one of them was in good repair. The other three were old and were likely easy to pick. Sakura peered curiously at the obviously new and expensive filing cabinet but left it alone. She could see what looked like an explosive tag peeking out from under the bottom of the cabinet. Sheesh, Mom was paranoid.

Just as Sakura had done with the door, Sakura picked the lock on the oldest, most run-down filing cabinet. Compared to the lock on the door, the cabinet was easy.

Once she opened the cabinet drawer, Sakura peered at the different colored files within.

"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, catch an enemy nin by the toe…" Sakura whispered softly. She picked a teal blue folder and opened it carefully. "String him up, ask him why, and if he cries stab him with a kunai." Inside, several documents bearing her mother's signature looked back at her. Sakura carefully pulled out a few spare pieces of paper and a pen. "What is his blood? If its earth, burn him dry, if its water, boil it high, if its wind, devour and fan, and if its lightning run and hide. Avoid the strike and burn their heart. Sign their body with fire's mark." Sakura flipped the top of her mother's folders upside down. She focused on the shapes her mother's writing made, rather than the word itself and carefully began copying her mother's signature. After a dozen attempts, Sakura finally felt ready. From within her blouse, Sakura pulled out the permission form the Hokage had given her. Like her mother's document, Sakura placed the paper upside down. Then, holding her breath to avoid accidental movement in her body, she carefully forged Mebuki Haruno's signature on the academy permission form. Sakura smiled and allowed two unnaturally sharp canines to slip through her lips when she was done.

"For we are fire's children and we burn just as hot." Sakura repeated the line she'd heard from some clan children at the park. It seemed to fit her emotional state nicely in that moment.

* * *

Sasuke puffed out his chest. Before him stood the door to Tou-san's study. Normally, the door caused Sasuke no end of trepidation; he often resorted to sneaking past it to get to the playroom. Yet today… today he'd be going in there on a mission: to gain early access to the academy. In his hand, one of the academy permissions slips was scrunched up tightly from where he had stolen it from one of his older cousins. If Aniki knew Sasuke was doing this, he'd probably disapprove of it. But Sasuke had to do this! He wanted to be just like his Aniki so that means being strong and a really amazing ninja! Yet anytime Sasuke asked about early admission into the academy, Aniki always looked so upset. The older boy would take Sasuke aside and try to tell him that Sasuke should do things at his own pace, and that there was nothing wrong with being a little slower than Itachi-niisan was.

Yes, Sasuke understood that things happened in their own time. But that didn't mean he wanted to wait around for ages for his turn at the academy! He wanted to become a super strong ninja now! There wasn't anything wrong with gaining a head start! It wasn't as if he could graduate right now anyway. Post-war regulations didn't like graduating academy kids before a certain age. All Sasuke would really be doing is extra training and meeting a few of his elder (future) comrades. Granted, Sasuke hoped that administration would be willing to bend the rules a little and let him slide through, but that was beside the point.

Steeling himself with one final breath, Sasuke knocked on his father's door. A moment passed.

"Come in," Fugaku's demanding tone came out slightly muffled from within the office. Sasuke opened the door and peeked inside. The elder Uchiha was sitting behind his traditional Japanese desk in seiza position. One hand held a inked brush slightly above what looked to be some sort of official looking document. The lighting form the window behind Fugaku made him appear imposing while the dark wooden bookshelves lining the adjacent walls did little to help. Sasuke stepped inside quietly and closed the door behind him.

"Well?" Fugaku asked curtly once Sasuke had turned to face the Uchiha clan head. "Why have you disturbed my work?"

"I've come seeking your permission regarding early entrance to the academy." Sasuke murmured. Seeing his father's lips parting to form a denial, Sasuke hurried to finish his request. "Please! I know that it is dangerous for me to attend so early, but I know I can succeed and achieve honor for the Uchiha clan!"

Fugaku paused, a spark seeming to have lit within his eyes.

"Dangerous?" Sasuke blinked but answered Fugaku's odd question.

"Yes, most shinobi who graduate early receive more injuries and die sooner than shinobi that graduate with their age group. They are also less likely to form lasting relationships and bonds than if they were in their own age group… but that doesn't mean I will be at risk! I promise you, father, I will train hard and become a shinobi you will be proud of! I won't fail." Sasuke promised. He subconsciously stood a little straighter as his father leveled a stern eye over him. Fugaku seemed to be evaluation something for after a moment the man sighed and quirked his lips upwards in a mockery of a smile.

"Very well, Sasuke. If you think you attend the academy, I will give my permission for an early admission." Fugaku held at his hand for Sasuke's permission slip and Sasuke excitedly passed it over. The elder Uchiha signed it with a flourish before waving his hand in dismissal. Sasuke obediently began to leave the room only to be stopped by the sound of his father's voice.

"Oh, and Sasuke?" Fugaku called.

"Yes, father?" Sasuke asked as he turned to look back into the study form his place at the door.

"Make sure not to say anything to your big brother about this. He's been so busy lately and I'm sure it would be the perfect surprise to cheer him up." Fugaku's eyes glittered in the darkness of his silhouette and for a moment Sasuke had to fight the urge to shiver in fear. Sitting like that, so intent and cast in shadow; Sasuke's father seemed more some kind of a monster than a man.

Sasuke left the room and shut the after he nodded his assent to his father's wishes. It didn't matter what his father did or didn't look like in the morning light. Sasuke had already gotten his permission to enter the academy early. Surely, everything would be alright if he could become like his big brother?

* * *

Naruto hummed happily as he packed away his sandwich into his bento box. Today was the day he would get to take the academy entrance exam. Jiji had worked with him till dinnertime yesterday to make sure he was ready for it. Granted, it was a lot of reading and writing that Naruto wasn't really fond of, but at least her could finally read the word 'finish' without having to sound it out. Naruto tied the ties on his bento box bag before heading out the door. The blond child pulled out the key on his necklace and carefully locked his apartment door. Then he headed off to the academy.

The ninja academy was situated to the north of village, near the Hokage tower and the ninja administration building. Naruto didn't really understand why it was there, but Jiji had just said it was more defensible and closer to the administration in case of an emergency.

As it was, Naruto lived slightly to the Southwest of the village center, so he simply hurried towards the market square. From there, he dodged food carts and vendors to make his way to the northbound main road.

As he headed northward, the houses became grander and the streets became cleaner. Well groomed trees dotted the sides of the road as Naruto passed into the area run and inhabited by Konoha's more wealthy families. If Naruto were to turn Westward, he would reach the Uchiha compound. Turning East would send him to the Hyuuga compound. Naruto ignored these options however and continued northward until he made it to the ninja academy.

The academy was technically connected to the Hokage tower, but it was painted white with red roof shingles and had a smaller door leading into it. The academic section of the building was off to the left side of the grand doors leading to the administrative portion. Normally, Naruto would rush through those doors and jump the secretary's desk to get to Jiji's office, but today her was here for actually business so he walked over to the side entrance that led to the academy portion of the building. Already, several parents and children stood about outside. Some were even still filling out the paperwork required to get in. Naruto's own paperwork had been filled out ages ago and was safely stored in his back pocket.

Naruto hurried over to his swing to wait. There were still a few minutes until they would open the academy doors and he was hoping to see Sakura before he had to take the test. Yet, as time ticked on, Naruto didn't see Sakura. More older children and families gathered, but the blonde saw no sign of his new friend. Worry and even a little resentment began to curl in Naruto's chest. Why wasn't Sakura here? If she took much longer, she wouldn't be able to enter the academy with him. Did she not want to be friends with him anymore?

Abruptly the academy doors opened. A young man with a scar across his nose came out.

"We're ready to begin now." The young man called. "I'm called Iruka Umino and I'll be helping you sign your children in. Once they've been signed in, another chunin teacher will take them to the rooms we'll be testing them in. You are free to wait in the welcoming hall and enjoy the refreshments there." Once he had said his piece, Umino stepped back inside the school, but left the door open for others to follow. Immediately, parents and children hurried to head inside.

Naruto bit his lip. Where was Sakura? He had just stood to follow the rest of the crowd inside when he heard his name being called.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Naruto looked back towards the main road just in time to see a pink and green streak tip headfirst into a pile of leaves.

Naruto blinked.

"Sakura-chan!" He cried out, alarmed. That pile of leaves was huge! Would she die from lack of air? Naruto raced over and grabbed one Sakura's flailing hands. One big tug later, and Naruto found himself with a lap full of pink and red. Sakura blinked up at him innocently before smiling brightly.

"Naruto!" The pink haired child then proceeded to wrap her arms around Naruto's center and hug him tightly. Naruto grinned at the friendly contact. Sakura couldn't not like him if she was hugging him, right?

"Hey, are you two taking the entrance exam? If not then please leave the area to play, the students need quiet to test well." The scarred ninja had stuck his head out of the door to peer at them. All of the other children and the adults had entered the building already. Naruto jumped up and tugged Sakura to her feet.

"We're taking the test!" He shouted loudly. "Don't start without us!" He ran into the ninja academy with Sakura right behind him. The ninja pinched his nose and seemed irritated.

"I just said to be quiet. If you're going to take the exam you need to use your inside voice." Iruka groaned as he led them inside and shut the door behind them. Turning, the teenager cast a shrewd eye on the both of them, frowning especially hard at Naruto.

"You don't have any adults with you. Do you have a permission slip with your guardian's signature on it?" Iruka asked.

Naruto nodded eagerly and produced his crumpled form. Jiji's signature rested proudly on the dotted line. Sakura pulled out her own neatly folded form and showed off her mother's signature. Naruto thought it looked much more fancy that Jiji's signature.

"All right, then go-" Iruka started to gesture towards a table set up further down the hall with two chunin manning it but was interrupted by a sharp but insistent rapping on the door. Iruka sighed but turned back to the door and pulled it open. A short, dark haired child awaited him. The pale skin tone and spiky hair marked him as an Uchiha just as much as the fan on his back and the navy-blue clothing did. However, a surprisingly warm set of red-brown eyes sat just above his nose and made Iruka wonder what fluke of genetics or parental mix had allowed the child to gain such different features. Normally, the Uchiha were extremely picky on who they allowed to marry into the clan. Surely, this child would never be able to gain the clan's awe-inspiring doujutsu. He just didn't have the right eyes for it. Maybe something else would develop…?

"I'm here for the academy entrance exam," the boy announced. He thrust his permission slip forward as though afraid it wouldn't be recognized. Iruka gave him a blank look before gesturing towards the booth he had been pointing to earlier.

"That's the sign in station. Please take your form over there and receive a name tag. After that, one of the proctors will lead you to the testing room." Iruka directed. The boy nodded and began to hurry past Naruto and Sakura.

"Hey! I know you!" Naruto burst out as he pointed at Sasuke. The Uchiha blinked at the offending limb and traced it back to Naruto. He blanched. Why was the ramen crybaby here?

"What are you doing here? Aren't you too little to be here?" Sasuke asked. Naruto blinked.

"I'm not short! And I can be here if I want to be here!" Naruto's cheeks reddened at the perceived insult. Sasuke cast a disdainful eye over Naruto. To his eyes, Naruto looked far to young to be at the academy or left without adult supervision.

"Yeah right, didn't your parents ever tell your not to wander to places you shouldn't be?" Sasuke scoffed. "And you're being rude too." Sasuke added as he looked back at the offending finger still pointed at his face. A look of hurt flashed quickly across Naruto's face before the blonde hid it away again. Immediately, the Uzumaki plastered a huge grin across his face.

"I don't need parents. I'm so indi-dipendent that I'm allowed to wive all alone! I can even make my own food!" Naruto declared. He stuck his hands on his hips and thrust his skinny chest out boldly. Sasuke briefly looked puzzled before a look of horror passed over his visage.

"You're an orphan?" Sakura asked. She had come to the same conclusion that Sasuke had. Her eyes crinkled at the corners and a small frown wove its way onto her lips. Naruto looked surprised for a moment before giving a hesitant nod. Something strange lingered in his eyes. It didn't really match the smile he was struggling to keep on his face. The young Haruno immediately turned to Sasuke and took a partial step in front of Naruto. Unbidden, one of the phrases she had heard her mom say to stupid people popped into her head. She didn't really understand what it meant (mother said it had a no-no word and wouldn't tell her what it meant) but it always seemed to get results.

"You shouldn't assume. It just makes an ass out of you and me." Sakura carefully, but forcefully, recited. Sasuke blinked in confusion while Naruto gaped before bursting out into laughter. Meanwhile, Iruka was shocked and struggled to regain his breath while his eyes appeared as if they would pop out of his head.

"Okay, children. I th-think its time to get you registered now!" Iruka hurried forward and began to usher them forward. He sent the Uchiha child to one ninja working registration and the two other children to the other. Sakura bared her fangs triumphantly. Nobody messed with her friends! HA!

* * *

The testing rooms were simply classrooms. They held about sixteen desks in each, so five rooms had to be utilized in order to properly hold all of the ninja academy applicants. Luckily, the classrooms were assigned by randomizing the alphabet, so Naruto and Sakura were placed in the same testing classroom. The fact that the rude, dark-haired boy was not placed in the same room as they were was merely the icing on the cake to Sakura. They were even placed next to each other!

"Alright everyone. This is the ninja academy entrance exam. This will be a timed test. It has twenty-five questions. Ten questions will be on grammar and reading. Ten questions will be on math. Five questions will be on social understanding. You will have one hour to complete this test. Any unanswered questions will count against your score, so I suggest you answer all of them, even if only with a guess." A blank faced Chunin announced from the front of the room. His partner, a younger female ninja with short black hair, passed out the tests.

"You may begin." The male Chunin intoned. Sakura hurriedly grabbed her pencil and started in. First up were the math questions. Most of them were basic addition and subtraction, though there was one multiplication problem phrased as a word problem hidden in the middle of the questions. Sakura answered them with ease before glancing over at Naruto. He seemed to be doing well; though he had his tongue stuck out in concentration he was still answered the questions quickly. Sakura nodded to herself and turned to the grammar and reading comprehension. These weren't hard at all. Sakura was used to much harder to read words and phrases from her science books. However, she Sakura looked at Naruto from out of the corner of her eyes, he appeared to be struggling. His eyebrows were screwed up and the constant scratching of his pencil had slowed. Sakura frowned.

Thinking quickly, she carefully tapped the eraser head of her pencil on the desk in front of her. Then, as if she were having trouble with a problem, she went to chew on the end of it, but 'accidentally' dropped it instead. The pencil made a loud sound as it hit the ground and successfully garnered Naruto's attention. As she grabbed it, she made sure to tap his foot three times with the pencil before returning upright. Hoping that her antics had gone unnoticed by the Chunin, Sakura nervously drew the pound symbol at the top of her desk with her fingers. The Haruno tried to make it look like idle movement due to nerves but wasn't sure how well she did. In lieu of being more discreet, Sakura made sure to focus on the papers in front of her.

She wasn't called out however, and when Naruto began to tap his eraser on his desk she felt as if she were on top of the world. His pencil hit the desk seven times before stopping.

Question number seven.

Sakura read through it again and nodded to herself. If any of these were slightly harder than the others it would have been number seven.

 **7\. Which word best completes the following sentence?**

 _Tobi did not _ before the test and failed it._

 **Sleep**

 **Eat**

 **Study**

 **Read**

Sakura knew that Naruto had problems pronouncing longer words and that math was his strong suit rather than reading. She also knew that he didn't quite understand how all the letters were put together yet. So, in hindsight, it wasn't too surprising that he would have trouble with this question. Sakura quickly began to tap her finger on the side of the desk in a repetitive beat of three quick taps and then a pause.

 _A-B-C … A-B-C … A-B-C…_

The continued scratching of Naruto's pencil rewarded her efforts and Sakura allowed herself a smile. Unfortunately, a glance at the test proctor had her insides freezing in fear. Both Chunins' eyes were **right on her**.

For one long moment, Sakura felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest as she held the male Chunin's gaze. After a moment, the Chunin broke their stalemate with a huff and a look away. His younger partner followed his lead and also removed her attention from Sakura. For one dumbstruck moment, Sakura felt her eyes widen and her breath catch. What? They knew she was cheating, and she wasn't in trouble?

Sakura glanced over at Naruto and met the blonde's own shocked visage. He had noticed too. They had cheated, been caught, and not gotten into trouble somehow. Slowly, a grin began to appear in Naruto's eyes as some sort of lightbulb went off behind his blue eyes. Sakura tilted her head at him before having her own epiphany. This was a ninja exam. Of course, they weren't going to be in trouble for cheating. So long as it wasn't blatantly obvious, cheating was probably encouraged as a good base for later ninja skills. Sakura bared her teeth in pleasure before turning back to her test. Naruto did the same.

From then on, the two went through the test together, using their improvised code whenever one of them found difficulty in discerning the correct answer. Surprisingly, Sakura found herself completely stumped on the final five questions. These were the social knowledge questions and she had no idea what they were talking about.

What in the world was 'beating around the brush'? And weren't humans by definition 'under the weather' as they all lived on the earth and not somewhere in space?

Luckily, Naruto was able to help her with these. Apparently beating around brush referred to avoiding the subject and being under the weather was used to imply that someone was ill. None of the answers for the social knowledge made sense to her with partial exception to the last one: when it was raining cats and dogs, the Inuzuka clan had let out their dogs to run wild in the streets. She wasn't all that sure why the verb 'raining' was used but if the Inuzuka clan ever just let their animals run wild in the streets, Sakura was sure they'd end up chasing Konoha's cat population and it would feel like it was raining cats and dogs then.

Or at least, that's what Naruto seemed to believe as that was the answer he gave her.

At any rate, they completed the exam with what Sakura expected to be perfect scores. Afterwards, the two of them stopped by the park and swung for a little while before Sakura had to hurry home in order to beat her mother back and make sure to give her minder the antidote to the sleeping tonic the woman had unknowingly ingested earlier. Next time, she'd need to make a faster acting one. Sakura had almost been late to the exam that morning!

* * *

Sasuke walked home happily. He had known all the answers to all of the questions on the entrance exam! Surely his brother would be proud? Sasuke hadn't told Itachi-ni-san that he was going to take the academy entrance exam, but now that he'd done so well, Sasuke couldn't wait for Aniki to come home from his latest mission. Still though…

The thought of the young blonde and the pink haired girl popped into Sasuke's mind. The young Uchiha frowned. He hadn't thought the boy was an orphan. If he had known, Sasuke would never had spoken about the child's parents like that. He would have gladly shown more of what his mother called 'tact' in telling the kid not to point fingers. Though… he didn't really know what the pink girl meant when she had told him off about what he said. What was an ass? Why would assuming turn him into one?

Maybe he should ask Aniki when he came back? Aniki seemed to know everything.

* * *

Gonna be honest and say that I procrastinated starting this one and when I did finally get to work on it, I found myself only able to right a few sentences before being stuck. Well... except for that first bit. I had that creepy Sakura moment planned for ages and was really excited to work on it. Well, was it creepy enough for the spawn of Orochimaru stuck in a military village that excels in creating child soldiers?

And... poor Sasuke. He's so innocent from being raised as a rich kid. Like, seriously. I know that in cannon his brother seriously messed him up, but I was surprised by how nitty-gritty he was able to get without having some sort of shock response or **something** from not being exposed to anything resembling the dark side of things (aside from the night his brother murdered everyone). I mean, he was raised pretty nicely even after his clan was killed, so I would think he'd still be somewhat of a posh rich kid deep-deep-deep inside.

And in other news... I am apparently still on track to graduate on time. Hallelujah! I'm sooooo relieved. I've changed majors four times since I started college and I'm only halfway through my third year.


End file.
